Sarah Marshall

A South Yorkshire man has been jailed for attacking two women he met over internet dating sites, in two horrific incidents that took place 11 months apart.

The first incident in time took place on March 16 last year, involving defendant Shaun Brannan and a woman he had entered into a relationship with in autumn 2015 after meeting her through an internet dating site.

Abigail Langford, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court how arguments between the pair were 'regular' and that their relationship had begun to deteriorate in the run-up to the incident taking place.

The incident took place just before 2.15am, when Brannan, aged 47, arrived at the property as the woman was sleeping on her sofa.

Ms Langford said the pair had been arguing with each other earlier that day.

"He was in a bad mood and accused her of seeing someone behind his back," she said, adding: "He kicked her to her face, her chest, and her groin area."

Brannan also threatened the woman, telling her he would 'finish her off'.

The court was told that the attack only came to an end when police arrived on the scene, after a neighbour reported hearing the woman banging on the wall and 'gasping for breath'.

Following the attack, the woman was left with a bruised groin and fractured jaw, for which she needed to have surgery.

The second offence took place on February 12 this year, while Brannan was on bail for the first incident, and involved another woman he met over an internet dating site in December 2016.

"She describes the relationship as being volatile right from the start and says she had tried to end it on a few occasions," said Ms Langford.

The court heard how the attack began at around 12.45am when the pair were both 'in drink' after they spent the evening drinking together at the woman's home.

Ms Langford said the woman noted that in the moments leading up to the attack Brannan's demeanour had suddenly changed.

She said: "He began to punch her using his fists. He struck her to her right breast and punched her to her ribs."

Just as with the other attack, Brannan only stopped assaulting the woman when the police arrived on the scene after receiving a call from a concerned neighbour.

Brannan pleaded guilty to a number of offences including a section 20 assault and a section 47 assault, in connection with the two attacks, and also admitted to breaching his bail conditions at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Timothy Savage, told the court that Brannan had suffered from a number of mental health problems after his wife died of cancer in 2011.

He said that Brannan had been prescribed the anti-depressant, setraline, which had led to him suffering from anxiety, paranoia and suffering from suicidal thoughts.

Judge Robert Moore sentenced Brannan to three years in prison and granted two restraining orders, which prevent Brannan from contacting either of his victims for a period of five years.